


In Voces Ventus

by victorianvirgil



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: AtLA, Avatar the Last Airbender, Logince - Freeform, M/M, Prinxiety - Freeform, airbender!janus, avatar!logan, crossover fic uwu, earthbender!logan, firebender!roman, it’s a quick lil spicy scene but they’re really just best friends, kinda implied logince but just a touch, waterbender!virgil
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:14:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24832186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/victorianvirgil/pseuds/victorianvirgil
Summary: Before there Kyoshi, Roku, Aang, and Korra, the cycle started with another avatar, an earthbender named Logan. On his sixteenth birthday after finding out that he is the Avatar, Logan is sent to the Fire Nation to begin his training with Prince Roman. From there, he has a lot to learn before he can reach his full potential.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 17
Kudos: 46





	1. Book One - Ignis

Logan was fourteen when he found out that the world was ending and sixteen when he was told that he would be the one to save it.

The Earth King himself had invited Logan to the palace and his hands were slick with beads of sweat despite the cool, late-autumn air, the water droplets sliding along his slender fingers as he was escorted to a lavishly decorated carriage. The interior was an emerald green, of course, just like everything else inside the suffocating walls of Ba Sing Se.

 _“Green is for peace, little bird,”_ the memory of his mother’s voice hummed in his ears. _“For growth after thousands of years; for love, trust, unity, and harmony.”_

As if knowing that her son was thinking about her, Logan’s mother opened the front door to their one-roomed house, leaning against the doorframe and smiling sadly. She looked beautiful with her pin-straight black hair and doe-eyes pooling with wisdom, with an understanding of the world and her place in it. A tear began to slide down her cheek and she lifted a hand, the singular sign of pain evaporating instantly as her only child rode away from his childhood and towards his destiny, not that either of them knew it yet.

But it was how Logan found himself lying on his ass in a foreign country only a month later, scratched palms scorched as red as fire despite having not yet successfully conjured the element.

“Again,” a voice ordered and Logan grit his teeth to keep from firing back with a disrespectful remark, lifting his gaze to meet that of the Fire Nation’s darling prince. “You’re too stiff.”

“That’s the earthbending for you,” Logan grumbled in irritation, digging his hands into the cobblestone beneath him and using the ground’s strength to propel himself to his feet.

A smirk spread across the prince’s lips, right arm still extended and wrist flexed up to present his smooth, open palm. “Was that a joke, Avatar?”

“I’m capable of them from time to time,” Logan responded, hands tightening to fists by his sides before doing as his teacher instructed earlier: lifting them to his hips, turning his wrists over so his knuckles faced up, and pulling his elbows back before driving his right arm forward with all the strength he had. Nothing.

Not a spark.

“Roman, this is the simplest fu-”

“Easy,” Roman interrupted, eyes flickering towards his younger cousins who were playing together in the corner of the royal square. They were watching their crowned prince and the earthbender-born Avatar with great interest, giggling every time their older cousin sent a wave of fire Logan’s way who, helpless to the heat, could only duck out of the way. “Remember, firebending comes from the breath, so take a deep one in and out before trying again.”

He did, eyes closing as he inhaled a deep gulp of air―slightly ashen from all the fire Roman was bending to show Logan the technique again and again and again―before releasing with a grunt, hand moving in time. When he opened his eyes, the prince was less than a foot away, completely unscathed and certainly not on fire.

“I think . . .” he began, eyes crackling like the logs beneath a warm hearth, “that earth is stable and you’re not used to instability, to work with something that’s alive.”

“What do I do, then?” he asked, almost flinching when the fire prince reached forward and wrapped his fingers around his wrist. They were slender and warm to the touch—damn-near scalding—and Logan’s heart was pounding in his chest, breath short.

To make matters worse, Roman looked up at Logan with long eyelashes and said, “Put your hand on my waist.”

“What?”

“Put your hand on my waist,” Roman repeated, guiding Logan’s hand towards his middle. “Fire is alive and deadly, but it’s also beautiful. I’m all of the above, so use me as a weapon―control me.”

Hesitantly, the tips of Logan’s fingers brushed against the prince’s hip, settling for a moment before instinct consumed him and he was stepping forward, pushing Roman’s right side back with his movement, and opening up their bodies. A quick shift to be perpendicular to how they had been before in every sense of the word.

Roman’s hand rested above Logan’s on his hip and Logan lifted their arms up like an outstretched wing, finding the movements natural as he stepped forward this time with his right. Then they were spinning, pulling one another into a whirlwind before calculatedly stopping when they had the most energy and Roman shot a jet of fire from his closed, extended fist.

The rest of the world faded into shadows, their bodies and the fire they were creating together all Logan could see.

Wrapping around one another like twin flames, each and every one of their moves fluently became another strike, Logan now lifting their hands up and letting them suddenly fall as one. Hands broke apart as Logan caressed the side of Roman’s face and the prince’s hands continued down, quickly circling around his other hand to conjure fire from his core. Another stream of fire was punched out of his body, this time from his left fist, with his right arm cocked back and bicep flexed as a counterweight.

“Is that all you got, Prince?” Logan mused, breaths rising and falling so quickly that he was sure he was burning from the inside out, that his mind was on fire.

In turn, Roman smirked, twisting himself out of Logan’s grip and pushing the other away with his forearm before pivoting on his front foot, sinking low in the turn as he punched forward with another wave of fire that scorched the air inches away from Logan’s face.

“I’m just getting warmed up, Avatar.”

From behind, there was loud cheering and Logan watched as Roman pulled himself into a standing position, smiling back at his cousins and the servants who were clapping in awe. Two girls, no older than five or six, were trying to copy their movements, even conjuring up harmless wisps of yellow flame.

Logan was half-tempted to reach for Roman to continue their dance, skin still tingling from the heat of it all.

Instead, he brought his hands together, closed fist flat against his open palm, and bowed, watching as the prince did the same before raising his head. “So, that was fire bending?”

“More or less, if you add a few kicks and a flip or two,” Roman grinned, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. “Before we continue, I should probably ask what you’ve learned.”

 _That I have much more self-control than I thought for not walling off an area around us to make this session of ours a little more private,_ Logan thought, although knowing better to say anything like that. “That whenever you successfully released fire, you were breathing out.”

“Good,” Roman nodded in encouragement, “and what did you see that I did with my body?”

A hitched breath as Logan found himself replaying the ten beats of dancing again and again, analyzing them and trying to think of constructive points to take away from it instead of giving into desire. “Well, you were never stopped for one. Earthbending isn’t as fluent, as easy to give in. It involves stubborn, quick, and powerful movements.”

“I’ll keep that in mind when I start trying to earthbend,” Roman chuckled before motioning for the other to continue. “What else?”

“You made a lot of circular movements with either your body or your hands, creating friction and, well,” Logan paused, a bit embarrassed to be stating the obvious, “fire.”

“Maybe it’s because you have a soul that’s thousands upon thousands of years old, but you’re pretty smart,” Roman teased, digging a hand into his pocket and pulling out his hair piece. After gathering half of his hair back into a bun at the back of his head, he slipped the piece that signified him as the Fire Nation’s crowned prince into his hair. “So final question . . . what _is_ fire?”

Such a simple question and Logan didn’t hesitate before answering, “One of the four elements-”

“Try again.”

“But that’s what it is,” Logan argued defensively, grabbing his glasses from the ground and slipping them onto his face while hanging his towel over his shoulders. Despite it being the beginning of winter in parts of the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation was as warm as a brutal summer day.

Roman shrugged, “Sure, but it’s more than that . . . . If you learn nothing else from me and you decide to find another firebending master, know this:

“Fire is like a sun inside of you, your purpose. It’s passion, it’s energy . . .” Roman paused, taking a breath so long that if he were to release his energy in fire form, he could conquer a volcano, “it’s love.”

And with that, Roman lifted one of Logan’s hands to his lips and kissed his knuckles softly. When their eyes met, all he said was “See you at dinner” before turning, lifting up one of his cousins into his arms and throwing her over his shoulder, Logan able to hear her screams in delight long after Roman and the mob of children following them were gone.

-

Roman didn’t attend dinner that night, his spot at the table noticeably vacant for the entirety of the seven-course meal.

Like in the most wealthy parts of the Earth Kingdom, the plates laid out before Logan and the other members of the royal family were diverse and piping hot, the seafood and fruit all fresh and the ash banana bread was soft when Logan sank his teeth into it.

“Try the smoked sea slug,” advised Roman’s twin brother, passing the plate Logan’s way and leaving little room for refusal. “I promise that it tastes much, much better than it sounds.”

It didn’t, but Logan made sure to swallow it and look grateful before nearly gargling some jasmine tea to rid himself of the taste. “Thank you, Remus,” he forced himself to say when he knew he could speak without making a face.

“You’re welcome!” the other grinned, accepting some sort of sauce to put on his helping of sea slug before greedily shoveling it down.

Besides him, the beautiful fire nation princess gave her brother a judgmental look before using the opportunity of Remus’ distraction to speak to Logan. “So, Avatar, how was your first training session with Ro? If it didn’t go well, you can just say so. When we were kids, he couldn’t even get his fire ferret to stay on his shoulders!”

Logan made sure he had swallowed the dumpling in his mouth before responding, “It was a good first session, he’s very knowledgeable.”

The princess couldn’t help but laugh, earning a glare from her mother, the Fire Lord. She immediately stopped and cleared her throat, “Well, I’m glad you’re learning from him, I suppose. You could probably find much better teachers-”

“Darling,” the Fire Lord interrupted, “the Avatar said that your brother is more than adequate, and I don’t think anything else is needed to be said about it right now.”

“Apologies,” she said while bowing her head slightly, turning to give Logan a look that he couldn’t help but laugh from. She was beautiful, just like the rest of the royal family, and flames seemed to flicker in her eyes when she looked at him. Despite her being betrothed to a nobleman in Shu Jing, she was one of the most sought-after women in the world and worst of all, she knew it.

Logan glanced to the prince’s empty spot, mind seeming to always return to him.

“If we’re forbidden from discussing your training, what do you think of the food?” the princess continued after dabbing at her mouth, blood-red lipstick smearing slightly against the corner of her lips.

“Much spicier than anything I’ve ever had,” Logan responded and the table erupted in polite laughter, looking between one another with amusement as if that much was obvious. Likewise, Logan chuckled before continuing, wanting to flatter and please because he would be staying with them for quite some time―until he mastered firebending, and that could take years. “It’s wonderful, though. I was born in a poorer part of Ba Sing Se, so I only had food like this in the capital for about a month before I came here.”

“And does that mean that you learned earthbending in a month?” Remus questioned, looking even more impressed with the avatar than before.

Shaking his head, Logan explained, “No, I was merely tested to see what I knew. I learned the basics when I was young and progressed a bit on my own, but I had never been _taught_ so it was . . . difficult. To adjust, I mean. That’s why I wasn’t sent here immediately.”

Not that he had even known that he was going anywhere, unable to say goodbye to his mom and the old woman across the street who had been his only friend throughout his adolescent years.

“So we can assume that Roman’s not here because you killed him in training?” the princess mused and the Fire Lord’s piercing gaze landed on her daughter like the deadly UV rays from the sun. However, it was gone as quickly as it had come because when she caught Logan looking her way, she was sporting a warm smile.

Something was wrong. Clearly.

“Thank you for the generous meal,” Logan bowed after standing, twenty-or-so pairs of eyes watching him with great interest. “I must admit though, I’m not accustomed to your spices just yet, and I’m not sure I could eat another bite!”

There was some giggling and the Fire Lord was still smiling, lifting a hand to motion that Logan was excused. “Thank you for joining us, Avatar. Should I have someone escort you to your room?”

“I don’t want to disrupt your meal, but thank you. I’ll be alright.”

A nod in approval before Logan turned and slipped off, easily weaving his way through the maze-like halls. After rounding the corner, he slipped his shoes and socks off, carrying them in one hand and letting his feet guide him. They were more reliable than his eyes, after all, almost always leading him in the direction he wanted to go.

Roman answered the door after a few crisp, assertive knocks, slacks hanging loose on his hips and chest bare as if he had been sleeping.

“Did you mean to sleep through dinner, Your Highness?”

“Did I?” Roman responded, rubbing the back of his neck before moving his hand up to push aside the flyaway strands of hair from his eyes. It was then that Logan noticed the glossy look to them, the way water―his opposing element―seemed to be pooling in the corners and threatening to spill, the whites of his eyes deepened to a soft red from tears.

_You’re not used to instability, with working with something that’s alive._

Roman was right, and Logan shifted awkwardly between his toes, trying to find himself on stable ground in order to offer some sort of physical comfort. “Should I . . .”

In response, Roman shrugged, dropping his gaze to the wooden floor beneath them. He stopped for a moment, a small smile almost flickering across his lips, “Why aren’t you wearing your shoes?”

“Not used to it,” Logan confessed, figuring that honesty was the best thing he could give Roman then. It was easy, at least easier than anything else. “Growing up I wasn’t . . . well, I certainly didn’t live like you. Shoes were always too small or too big and I was never the same size for long so we saved the money for fabric or thread so my mother could mend our clothes. And, just like every earthbender, I can sense vibrations around me, it lets me see in the dark.”

“That last bit’s not true, you’re just trying to make me laugh.”

“Maybe so, but it worked,” he countered, taking a hesitant step forward and watching Roman’s breath hitch. “It might be impossible.”

“What is?”

“Being able to see through earthbending.”

“Oh,” Roman nodded, thoughts clearly elsewhere as he scanned the dark, vacant hallway. “Hey, Avatar . . . do you want to come in? Just for a little while.”

“Extra lessons?”

“Something like that.”

With a nod, Logan waited until the other stepped out of the doorframe and allowed him entrance, taking it with ease and striding inside. The chamber was easily larger than his house with his mother, a gorgeous bed draped in red sheets the obvious main attraction. On both sides were two banners with the fire insignia and against one wall was a generous-sized bureau with a spotless mirror just above it framed in gold.

Nothing in the room was untouched by red, nothing but Logan in his green and the soft blue envelope abandoned on the bedside table.

Before he knew it, Roman was on him, pushing him back towards the mattress with their lips locked. He tasted like ash and heartbreak, Logan’s hands sliding up and down his back more in comfort than anything. But when Roman’s mouth trailed towards his jaw and the base of his ear, Logan tilted his head to the side, intelligent eyes scanning the dark scrawl scratched onto the beautiful parchment.

_My Prince,_

_It’s not safe here anymore and I can no longer continue our correspondence. I will be going into hiding and I need you to not look for me, to find love elsewhere, but know that every day I will miss you and your fiery passion, your body and mind and heart and smiles._

_Do not engage with my father if you can, and please, my love, do not ask your mother to wage war on the Northern Water Tribe. My people have done nothing wrong and my leaving is to protect them, to protect you._

_Keep smiling, for me,_

_Prince Virgil_

And when Logan lifted the other’s chin up, he saw the agony there, the despair. So he wrapped his arms around him and held Roman as he sobbed into his chest, no longer trying to get his mind off his lover.

“It hurts,” he choked out between gasps for air as Logan lifted them both into a sitting position, keeping Roman close to his chest.

“I know,” Logan nodded, one hand in the other’s long hair and running his fingers through the dark, silky strands, “but he’ll be safe.”

“Just until you kill his father, right? And bring peace?” Roman mumbled hopefully and Logan flinched, glad the other couldn’t see his face as he stared at his own reflection in the mirror; he was nothing more than a gangly, emotionless boy and everyone believed that he could save the world. But how?

“Right,” Logan assured him, knowing that it was what the other needed to hear and pushing his doubts down deep inside of himself, burying them in a place that Roman, no matter how bright his fire was, would never reach or be able to see. “I’ve done it before,” he added, referring to his thousands of past lives, “who’s to say that I can’t do it again?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys!
> 
> going to make this pretty short because i have something very very very fun planned that i need to do asap. but yes, atla au!!! not sure how many times this has been done, if at all, but hopefully my twist on it makes it a little more diverse and still fun to read!
> 
> i love avatar as a kid, and i still do, so i’m so so so excited for this! and i hope you enjoy reading as much as i do writing this (especially getting to post the fire chapter on the summer solstice, sexy)
> 
> until next time,  
> ronnie


	2. Book Two - Caeli

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After mastering firebending with the help of the Fire Nation’s heir Prince Roman, Logan journeys to the Eastern Air Temple to win the war again his true enemy—himself.

Despite the Avatar’s promise to the prince of fire, nothing changed in the Northern Water Tribe but the moon and the strength of their navy.

Every night, Logan slept with the weight of every single soul in their world on his chest, their powerless spirits wrapping around his heart like a thick, soaking-wet blanket in an attempt to stifle its beating. He dreamt of his mother drowning over and over again as she was tortured for information, and the Fire Nation’s heir having his element manipulated against him into steam that burned his eyes and throat for the very same reason.

_ Where is the Avatar? Where is the son of the badgermoles? _

Roman had promised the other that if he were ever captured, he’d rather die than reveal his friend’s secrets. That thought alone scared Logan more than anything.

“Clear your mind, Lo . . .”

With a grunt in response, Logan tried again to release his apprehensions in favor of peaceful meditation. His mother―a beautiful earthbending widow who had married for love and suffered for it―and Prince Roman slipped away, sand through his slender fingers. Past, present, and future vanished alongside them in a single breath, leaving only the chilling breeze that always blew through the open structures of the Eastern Air Temple that, after a full year now, Logan was still not accustomed to.

“Good . . . just breathe.”

_ In through the nose, out through the nose, _ Logan reminded himself, lasting only a few moments before he lifted his closed eyelids enough to see the guru through his lashes, Patton’s soft, gray hair tossing in the wind, lifting enough to reveal two fiery-red marks blazing against the pale, exposed skin beneath his ear.

Logan’s hands tightened into rocky fists as he squeezed his eyes shut, lips pursing as he silently cursed the ancient lion turtles. Because, really, didn’t the air nomad know better than to expect him to be able to relax, to stop mentally tracing those all-consuming contusions on his slender neck? To remain present and ignore thinking about the night before when they were being created? In favor of what, meditation?

Someone so in touch with their own emotions should be far more aware, that was all.

Besides him, Roman shifted uncomfortably, the fire nation’s crowned prince not used to waiting around when there were things to be done. He peaked an eye open and Logan didn’t need to feel vibrations in the earth to know that the other was staring at him, in turn making an effort to appear mindful and deeply invested in his own subconscious.

Prince Roman saw right through it, though, and snorted.

“This isn’t working for you, is it, Avatar?”

Not Patton’s voice this time, and Logan had to withhold his scoff. “I feel weightless . . . at peace for the first time in my life. My thoughts are flowing right through me like the breeze-”

“You lie.”

“Janus,” Patton sighed, interfering before their mockery and accusations—from Logan and the airbender respectively—escalated into yet another tri-elemental duel. “Go easy, it’s not an intentional lie when one is merely trying to convince himself.”

Janus mumbled something that was inaudible to Logan, but Roman aggressively coughed as if trying to mask his own laughter.

After giving his lover and Roman a quick glare, Patton continued, “It just takes time. It’s easy for you and I, but it’s hard for someone to learn how to leave the ground behind, to become untouchable.”

“I suppose . . .” Janus trailed off, studying Logan with the eyes of a soul maybe even older than his own—thousands of past lives as the Avatar and all, “but I still opened all of my chakras at nine. So if  _ he  _ can’t open them by the end of the week, he’s a lost cause.”

And with that, Janus leapt to his feet—guided by the air surrounding him—and had hardly even landed firmly before he was bending at the waist to kiss the top of Patton’s head. The other couldn’t help but smile, tossing up his wooden staff that swiftly unfolded its four wings to become a glider. A curt nod to Logan—more to appease Patton than anything—before his manipura-yellow eyes flickered towards Roman, offering a hand to pull the other to his feet. “Hold on tight, fireling.”

The last Logan heard of them until dinner was Roman’s yelp as he clung onto the bender’s waist and Janus’ wicked laughter from the thrill of freefall. The wind carried them down like a leaf in autumn to the lowest part of the floating island, meeting a giggling group of young benders who looked onto the pair with admiration and curiosity.

“My apologies for Janus’ behavior . . . it’s been quite some time since he last meditated with anyone besides me, and I’m afraid that he might have forgotten how,” Patton expounded.

“It didn’t bother me,” responded Logan, body betraying him with his tongue between his teeth and voice far from being as level as he normally strived for. Clearly irritated, and his uninterested front was nothing more than a wall of glass easy to peer through.

Sighing, Patton began to back-track in order to regain the ground they may have lost in the session. “How about we start over? I think the others just reminded you of all your stress and pressures as the Avatar.”

There was no accusation in his tone, just a gentle question that Logan had to strain to hear over the other voices in the wind. It filled Logan with a calm he hadn’t felt in years, not since well before the Dai Li told him he was the Avatar. If ever.

“Let’s. Start from the beginning, I mean,” Logan nodded, lifting himself to his feet and glancing down at Patton, extending a hand to help him up. The nomad looked amused, letting the other pull him up before motioning for Logan to follow him. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

So Logan followed as the other set a comfortable pace, not surprised when they began to ascend the stairs that spiraled around the highest mountain. To allow Logan to focus, they needed to leave all of his distractions behind―from his duties as the Avatar to the war that the Chief of the Northern Water Tribe was waging against the world to his frustrated airbending master, Janus, who, at any given time, seemed half-tempted to steal the breath from his lungs.

“Whoaaaaa, Prince Roman, do that again!” a distant voice shouted, and when Logan glanced down, he saw a wave of fire nearly take Janus’ head off as an airbender, too young to even have her sky-tinted arrow, manipulated the air around Roman’s stream of fire to create a deadly-accurate funnel.

Logan needed a break from him as well. Roman―albeit his closest if not only friend―was a lot to handle at times, and as he looked away, Logan couldn’t help but wonder if the other would burn the sacred temple of their hospitable hosts to the ground.

They hadn’t gone far before Patton came to a screeching halt, Logan instinctively stomping hard with his right foot and cutting his left hand across his chest in order to summon a wall of solid rock. He wrapped his free arm around Patton’s waist and pressed his body flush against the wall for protection, his heart nearly pounding through his chest and into the air acolyte’s back. “What did you see? Who’s there?”

“Nothing I just . . . realized we went by it.”

A lava-like blush spread across Logan’s cheeks as he dropped his hand and sent the stones back into place, hands quickly retracting to his sides as he cleared his throat, “Right . . . right.”

Awkwardness permeated the air between them like toxic gases in a confined chamber, neither speaking again until they traveled down a ways and Patton dragged his index finger along a crack in the otherwise smooth rock.

_ Odd,  _ Logan thought to himself, but, still mortified, he didn’t dare say a word.

He wasn’t left in confusion long, not as the rocks slowly began to part like a royal double door to reveal a large, empty cavern with a moderate-size pool trickling down to another, then another, and then another still. Darkness prevented him from seeing much beyond that, but he knew, if not for his gut then the vibrations he could feel with his bare feet, that the stream ran even further down.

Without hesitation, Patton strode into the cave and sat in the shadows just before the entrance in a lotus pose. His stygian eyes closed and Logan couldn’t help but stare at this brilliant light radiating in the otherwise dismal dark, unable to help the way he drew to him like a glowfly to an open flame.

“Many Avatars have come here before you to learn about and open all the chakras. It makes sense that the presence of your past lives here could help strengthen and further your training.”

Settling in a seated position next to Patton and closing his eyes, Logan mumbled more to himself than anything, “I’m not really sure my past lives like me too much.”

“I can’t see why they wouldn’t,” the other countered, hands settling on his own knees. “Regardless, we should start with what you know about the chakras.”

Theory and memorization from ancient texts, at least, he did know.

“I’m assuming that taking me here was to help me conceptualize the idea of the chakras being metaphorical pools of spiraling energy that flow throughout the body, and how, to achieve true balance, I must clear the murk preventing just that.”

Pausing, Patton scratched at his throat for a moment before he cleared it, “True, absolutely true, and definitely the reason why I brought you here.”

The corner of Logan’s lips curled up in amusement before he caught himself, schooling neutrality back onto his features.

“I would argue that this part of your training will be the most intense, and for that reason, there has been no rush to bring you to this point. So, tell me now if you aren’t ready, because we can’t stop until all seven are open.”

Hesitantly, Logan nodded. Then, after realizing that the other had his eyes closed, he said, “Yes . . . I will do whatever it takes.”

“Good . . . then let’s begin.”

-

Logan was profusely sweating as they neared the end―fears, burdens, shame, grief, and lies having bowed to equilibrium.  _ Two chakras left . . . just these two. _

“The Light Chakra,” Patton had started once again like a song, Logan helpless but to listen to the sweet melody swelling over the bubbling brook, “is located in the center of the forehead.”

And it was then that Patton touched him.

A jolt was sent down Logan’s body, the brush of two fingers nearly enough to unravel Logan and expel his spirit from the human world entirely. His eyes opened wide as labored breaths shook his frame, and the non-bender studied him in confusion. Slowly, Patton lowered his hand from Logan’s brow and let it fall back into his lap.

“It . . . deals with insight and is blocked by illusion―like how you may think things are separate when they are actually one in the same.”

Without needing to be prompted further, a dull, flickering memory flashed in Logan’s mind. And then there was Roman, the young prince, who had barely been sixteen when they met, crying in his arms over a letter from his lover, their clothes and the sheets beneath them wrinkled from the semi-intimate exchange only moments before.

Logan was sure that no Avatar before him had ever been so glad that his thoughts were his own, not sure what the air acolyte would even say if he learned about that one time with the prince-

But the scene shifted before Logan could examine it further and in his and Roman’s place morphed the twin figures of Janus and Patton, bodies bare and moving as Patton gasped with pleasure. Manicured fingernails dug into smooth flesh and dragged down the other’s spine like dragon claws, and Janus responded ferociously with a kiss like a killing blow.

There was no division between them, one soul in two bodies desperate to converge. Even Roman, as he grieved for his lover, knew this passion, this love.

_ You’re not used to instability, with working with something that’s alive. _

Roman was right, but that’s not what he was supposed to say, what Patton wanted to hear.

“The four nations are all one people, but we live as though divided.”

_ Right, Patton’s right. Focus on the nations. _ “Connected . . . we are all connected,” he tried, half-hoping he could force the chakra open with sheer-will and by ignoring these intrusive thoughts alone.

“Good, now-oh,” Patton began, stopping himself mid-sentence. Logan opened his eyes to see his own palms bleeding, torn open by his crescent-shaped fingernails still penetrating his skin. He hadn’t felt the pain, hadn’t known he was doing anything at all, and when he looked up, Patton was leaning closer, eyes soft and swelling with understanding. “We all struggle with one chakra more than the others―it was earth for me―but remember, we left our fears and lies in the past.”

But, no, he hadn’t. They were all intertwined, weren’t they? For weren’t fear and lies nothing more than negatively-charged illusions? His apathetic guise tied to his crippling fear of rejection, his repression less self-control and more a way to evade his emotions?

Connected. The monks were right, it was all connected.

“Breathe,” Patton commanded and Logan did, thoughts receding like the tide. Even Janus slipped away, Logan instead giving into the silvery, calming bliss. “Keep breathing.”

He did, hands relaxing and sliding down further into his lap, palms silently pressing together.

Fears, lies, illusions . . . they were one in the same. Even the concept of the chakras played into the human need to separate like things in order to comprehend minor differences. Maybe . . . maybe he didn’t have to deal with his trauma now, and just recognizing this would be enough to continue on.

A breath in, a breath out.

It wasn’t conventional, and it certainly hadn’t been pretty, but after a moment, his emotions pacified and a silent tranquility embraced him like a childhood friend, an affection lover.

The sixth chakra unlocked, and a comforting wave of light washed over him in the form of Patton’s prideful beam.

“The Thought Chakra is located at the crown of the head-” Patton began again, and Logan winced, anticipating another chilling touch. But the acolyte kept to himself this time, and Logan didn’t know whether or not he felt disappointed. “It deals with pure cosmic energy, and is blocked by earthly attachment. Meditate on what attaches you to this world.”

Memories flooded into his mind again, a controllable stream pooling with love. A maternal smile was first, followed by a flicker of fire burning brightly beneath soft, white flesh. Then, most persistently, the way wisps of fog-gray hair half-covered the peaceful man’s features, leaving only his smile in sight.

“Now let them go.”

But they were already gone, flowing down the river in the form of heavy, burdening tears. Forgotten. Leaving Logan nothing more than an unmarked parchment, a secret cove home to none. He opened his eyes and Patton was smiling in approval, lips parting to say something when Roman stumbled into the mouth of the cave.

Sparks of irritation prickled beneath his skin, but he had learned how to control the burning flames, instead, taking a breath and waiting for the firebender to speak. It wasn’t like he was interrupting anything significant between him and Patton, after all―the chakras were open, Logan’s body and spirit laced together, so their work for the day was done. Their work together was done.

“There’s been an attack, I’m here to protect the Avatar.”

Still, Logan couldn’t help but crave for even another heartbeat alone with Patton, eyes closed and simply basking in the other’s presence.

“No need for that, Highness, just tell me that you didn’t run all the way up the mountain so there is still a chance to help.”

A loud huff from outside the cave answered that question, Logan pulling himself up to his feet with Patton not far behind. He stopped, turning to face him, “No, it won’t be safe.”

The Avatar was met by a pair of surprisingly stubborn furrowed brows, and when their eyes met, Patton didn’t cower beneath the other’s gaze. “I’m coming to protect my people. If you are worried about safety, stay here to protect yourself.”

A challenge in the face of a challenge, and Logan watched the other round him with the assertiveness of firebender, the grit of an earthbender.

And so Logan said nothing, turning to glance at Roman already atop of Damini. He just shrugged before extending a hand down to pull Patton up onto her neck and just behind her head. Careful to not accidentally kick off any of the dragon’s lapis scales, Patton hoisted himself up and looked at Logan expectantly while the dragon also cocked her head to the side, revealing the silver bolt that streaked over one of her eyes like a charge of pure lightning.

The daughter of the original firebenders was the last thing Logan saw before the world went white, eyes glowing as Raava―the spirit of light―along with every single one of Logan’s past lives wove together and lended him their strength. Air spiraled around his lower-half like devotees around their insouciant spirits while a ring of fire materialized over his brow and bits of earth coiled around his wrists and ankles.

The elements awaited his command, and when the son of the badgermoles decided to fly, they bent to his will.

Neither Roman or Patton had ever seen the other enter the Avatar state, and for a beat, were struck with awe. But then the moment was gone and the trio raced towards the Eastern Air Temple, Logan by directing the air waves to carry his mortal body while Roman and Patton rode Damini. As they grew closer, they could see a sky bison-size ball of water below imprisoning a group of motionless young benders.

Drowning them.

Roman swore. But Logan, in his phantasmal form, didn’t hear a word. With the energy he and his past lives were putting into maximizing his physical strength, almost every other one of his senses was impaired. Even his rebirth into the Fire Nation was in jeopardy if he died now. Not that he was thinking about it then, his survival and protective instincts kicking in to command the crown of fire around his head to infiltrate the watery orb. The particles quivered and heated up until the shape fell and a fog settled over the crowd below. The young airbenders coughed and gasped while the squadron of blue figures belonging to the Northern Water Tribe turned to face him, scowls across their features.

In the middle of the group was a familiar figure, a man cloaked in nomadic garments, trying to rally the waterbenders into a second attack.

Janus snarled as he saw Logan approach, hands lifting to attack.

Before Logan could even attack, a blood-curdling scream sounded from his side. Janus turned and an orange and red crescent disc flew his way, the boomerang smacking the space between his eyes and causing him to collapse. Patton, who was standing on two feet still atop of Damini, was screaming with anguish, too emotionally distraught to think better of it. Then, the dragon dipped down to attack and Patton was falling, weightless and without control. Tears streamed down his face not from fear of dying because, no, he was already dead, or close to it, but from something else. Something worse.

Logan knew betrayal well, knew how abandonment made him plummet further and further, not knowing when he was going to land, only that when he did, he would die. So without thinking, his body raced after Patton’s, catching him in his arms and holding him close.

“I’ve got you,” he said, although Logan’s voice was not his own. It was the voice of the Avatar, a spirit and thousands upon thousands of humans before him speaking in unison. It was the voice of power, of balance, of safety. Of love.

“I’ve got you,” he said again and, of course, he meant it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys!!!
> 
> so ik it’s been a long time since i posted the first chapter, and i’m sorry about that lmao, it was a bit of a rough summer on my end and i wasn’t feeling up to writing. but now i have responsibilities to put off and so, time to do this instead obviously oop—
> 
> so i hope you enjoyed! rip moceit fans i’m sorry guys, but logicality and prinxiety are endgame here
> 
> ty for reading & i promise the next chapter will not be five months from now but hopefully within a few weeks to wrap this short bad boy up
> 
> until next time,  
> ronnie


End file.
